Major skills shortages holding back UK’s plans for climate change adaptation and nature recovery

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The Landscape Institute has today launched Skills for Greener Places, the result of an industry-wide assessment of skills and workforce issues amongst those that are responsible for designing and building outdoor places, including delivering the Governments’ ambitions to climate risks and nature loss.

\r\nThe report finds that:\r\n• the UK has major green skills gaps, which are inhibiting its ability to deliver on its plans for local climate adaptation and nature recovery.\r\n• Over 50% of businesses in this sector have a hard-to-fill vacancy, and businesses are having to turn down contracts to make places greener\r\n• Market demand for landscape skills is extremely high – particularly driven by biodiversity and nature recovery\r\n• Skills gaps exist across all parts of the UK, but are particularly acute in the public sector and outside of the large cities – which will be exacerbating regional inequalities, particularly around well designed places\r\n• The workforce is older and whiter than the UK average. An aging workforce will make skills shortages worse in the medium term\r\n• This is not just an environmental problem, it’s an economic one. The research found that this sector is worth £24.6bn to the economy in Gross Value Added terms alone, and is growing almost twice as fast than the wider economy average (18% compared to 10% since 2010)\r\n\r\nSue Morgan, Chief Executive of the Landscape Institute said:\r\n“Previous green skills research has focussed mainly on heavy industry and new technology. This report looks closer to home: at how we make the places where people live greener. That’s vital – not only for halting climate change, but also adapting to its impacts, which we’re already feeling. The UK has set the right goals, now it needs to look at how it can achieve them.”\r\n\r\nThe research was undertaken by Metro Dynamics, and was a cross-UK partnership between Government agencies and industry. Led by the Landscape Institute, the research partners were the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI), Historic England, Historic Environment Scotland, Locri, Natural England, Natural Resource Wales, NatureScot, and the Northern Ireland Department for Communities.\r\n\r\nJill Bullen, Lead Specialist Advisor, Natural Resources Wales (Project Partner) said:\r\n“The Landscape Skills and Workforce Research is very much welcomed. It will equip us with the evidence and insight we need to create landscapes that are fit for the future. This improved understanding is essential for both our own profession and to support collaboration on these important national challenges”.\r\n\r\nWayne Grills, CEO – British Association of Landscape Industries (Project partner) said:\r\n“This sector is at the coal face of delivering solutions to international environmental challenges. Whether it’s understanding skills shortages, barriers to innovation, public sector crunch points, or other market failures which hold back the landscape industry, this research makes a case for renewed focus on landscape by national policymakers.”\r\n\r\nBen Brown, Head of Policy and Research at the Landscape Institute said:\r\n“Because of climate change, cities are going to get hotter and more prone to flooding. Greener cities solve this – as well as being much healthier places to live. But we can’t improve this in the UK unless we consider the supply-side challenges which hold us back. Our assessment is that the supply-side challenge in this case is skills shortages.”